1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an IC (Integrated Circuit) card reader for reading and displaying the contents of an IC card and more particularly, to a portable IC card reader carried about in a clothes pocket, a bag or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,951 for example is an electronic terminal device (an IC card reader) for retrieving information from an IC card used as an information storage medium and displaying the retrieved information with the device's input port being shielded electromagnetically. In the disclosed technique, the IC card insert port through which an IC card is inserted is arranged with a dust-proof lid. Namely, with the IC card reader having such a construction, the lid is opened only when an IC card is inserted and kept closed when no IC card is inserted.
This setup prevents the IC card reader from malfunction or undue deterioration due to foreign matters such as dust entered through the card insert port.
In the above-mentioned conventional construction, the lid provided at the IC card insert port makes it difficult for foreign matters from penetrating the IC card reader. However, it is still possible for very minute foreign manners to penetrate the IC card reader little by little through a gap at the IC card insert port or the like. In normal use, the minute foreign matters that entered the IC card reader accumulate there. The accumulated foreign matters contaminate electrical contacts of an inserted IC card to adversely affect its inner electronic circuit as well as the electronic circuit of the IC card reader.
If the conventional IC card reader is carried in a clothes pocket or a bag, foreign matters that may penetrate the IC card reader include not only dust and grit that cause an electrical damage relatively seldom but also a metal clip or the like that may short-circuit the IC card reader and a adhesive material that sticks to the inner wall of the IC card reader to cause some mechanical trouble. For example, if a foreign-matter sticks to any of the contact electrodes that get information from the inserted and electrically contacted IC card, a poor contact may occur between the contaminated contact electrode and a corresponding mating contact, thereby making it impossible to get information from the IC card or getting wrong information.
Especially, if wrong information is retrieved from an IC card when displaying the bank deposit balance or the ID number for example, a serious problem may be entailed for the user of the IC card. Therefore, popularization of the use of IC cards requires the IC card reader to be constructed such that it is difficult for foreign matters to penetrate to reduce chances of foreign-matter induced erroneous operations, thereby significantly enhancing the reliability of the IC card reader.
However, the conventional IC card readers have no measures in dust-proof and construction against the foreign-matter penetration especially which work when the IC card reader is carried inside a clothes pocket or a bag.